Hoth Bricks has posted a rumor list for Summer 2017, and although a bit vague, it’s very interesting. Special thanks to them for digging this up! I’ve posted a translation below and converted the approximate prices from Euros to USD based on what is usually seen at retail stores. Of course if you dislike toy spoilers and would rather be surprised when the news is released officially, I’d understand if you clicked away now.

So with what we now know (or can start to assume – this is still a rumor after all) it’s time to speculate!

The battle packs are specifically noted a Episode IV – VII. This variable is, in a word, huge. That gap of time can mean almost anything, barring prequels of course. But does it bar Rebels and Rogue one? Both are still prequels but they are direct prequels in the Original Trilogy timeline or concurrent with the original films. If they go for the earlier parts of that timeline, that could easily mean rereleases of battle packs that haven’t been done in a while, most likely the classic Rebel troopers from Episode IV or maybe Snowtroopers from Episode V. Personaly, I’d like to see the Mandalorians turn up in a battle pack again. Perhaps the new ones from Rebels who are loyal to the Empire? More Mandos would make a welcome addition to the Death Watch and Shadow Collective minifigures Lego has already released.

Image credit: Lego

Image Credit: Lego

Image Credit: Lego

Image Credit: Lego

But who knows? Battle packs sometimes have oddballs like the Senate Commandos pack (Clone Wars) and even pull from the Expanded Universe with the Shadow Troopers pack, one of my personal favorites. You can’t count out the odd chance of getting something like a Tusken Raider battle pack (because we know a new Landspeeder set is coming) or maybe a bunch of Ewoks from Episode VI. And I didn’t even touch on Episode VII yet! But more on that in a bit.

Next on the list is the Quadjumper from Episode VII. I think this is a great choice for a set. If you don’t recognize the name, it’s probably because the name is never spoken in the film. This is the ship that Rey insists is better than the Millenium Falcon (aka garbage), and seconds later it is promptly destroyed by TIE fighters in pursuit.The gigantic engines and unique cockpit would make this a fun build. I would suspect four to five minifigures to be included: Rey, Finn, and BB-8 of course, probably followed by a stormtrooper or two, maybe one of Unkar Plutt’s thugs in place of one trooper. This might be a stretch, but what about Constable Zuvio, who was cut from the final film? I’d love to see the set include some scenery too, like the iconic archway of Nima Outpost or the pool of water that thirsty Finn shares with the Happabore. Can we have a Happabore and the arch? I actually much like the sound of both!

Image Credit: Lucasfilm

Perhaps one of the most interesting set names is the Rebel hangar. ok, the name isn’t interesting but I’d wager the contents are pretty cool I see this going one of two ways.

1.) Rebel Hangar (On Yavin) – Similar to how Lego sold Super Heros sets with all the Suicide Squad characters without actually putting ‘Suicide Squad’ on the box, this kit could be a tie-in across between Rogue One and the Original Trilogy regardless of whether or not Rogue One appears on the box. A good Yavin base would have the temple hangar and high-rising scout towers/defensive turrets and some lush green scenery. I suspect Mon Mothma may make an appearance in this base. She isn’t in Episode IV, but she is in Rogue One and a high-ranking rebel leader, so including her still makes sense. Besides that, the base may include a relatively small ship like an A-Wing as well as maintenance crews with tools and small vehicles, probably some crates and the like as well. So for figures, I’d suspect Mon Mothma, some classic Episode IV Rebel troopers, a couple stormtroopers, and possibly Luke Skywalker in his orange pilot suit. I’m having trouble coming up with a main villain for this one, so I’d say an Imperial Officer isn’t unlikely either.

2. ) Rebel Hangar (Home One) – I missed out on this set as a kid and adult me still wants one. Home One is the Mon Calamari cruiser from the huge space battle at the end of Episode VI. The original set included Mon Mothma, Admiral Ackbar, and Lando Calrissian in his general’s getup. I see a strong possibility that if this set was rereleased, not much would change. The control room of the cruiser sits adjacent to a hangar with an A-Wing and includes a trans-orange globe representing the hologram of the attack plan on the second Death Star. General Crix Madine, a Mon Calamari Officer, and an A-Wing pilot were also included in the set. While maybe not the prettiest set (the control bridge is great, but the hangar is pretty bare in my opinion) I’d love to see an update for this one.

You’d be forgiven if you didn’t remember who the Guavian Death Gang was in Episode VII, but I bet if I told you they were the red guys with “Tell that to Kanjklub guy” Bala Tik you’d remember the scene. This is an interesting, somewhat unexpected rumor for me. I do hope it’s true though. The first Episode VII Black Series figure I purchased was one of these guys, and I have a love for bounty hunters and all-around weird mercenary characters. These red-armored, heavily-armed mercs look great in the Lego Force Awakens game and would look great in any Star Wars MOC. Speculation is that the set is actually the Eravana, Han Solo’s freighter from Episode VII. Unless it is somehow magically to scale and can fit a Millenium Falcon inside it, I’m not terribly excited. Okay, so of course I’m kidding – it will probably include a smaller Falcon to recreate that shot. Most likely the set will also include a Rathtar to reenact the comical monster chase that happens after Han Solo tries to simultaneously negotiate with the Kanjiklub and Guavian Death Gang. It will most likely also include Rey, Finn, and/or BB-8 since that’s all the characters in that scene. Bala Tik may appear as well as Tasu Leech, though that is somewhat unlikely since he is so minor and already in the newest Falcon set. And back to battle packs for a moment – what if one of them is the gang members from both Kanjiklub and the Guavians? Space scum and villainy might make a good battle pack!

I’m going to skip ahead here to this article doesn’t end on something I know nothing about. I don’t watch the Freemaker Adventures (I just haven’t checked it out) so I’m not going to speculate on what those two sets are. I’ve heard mixed reviews of the shows, but have heard that there are plenty of enjoyable side characters that people would enjoy seeing in future sets.

Anyway, back to the hype train. Up next is the Imperial Hovertank. We’ve already received a set with this same name for Rogue One, so I’m wondering if the name is a stand in. I’m going to throw it out there that if this rumored name is genuine, it’s an Imperial version of this set, similar to how the V-Wing Starfighter had Republic and Imperial variations.

Three figures is about standard for a set at this price point (albeit the Republic Hovertank only had two.) Just venturing a guess, it would come with two to three stormtroopers, one of which possibly being a driver similar to the Rogue One hovertank driver (though I doubt this will be another Rogue One set.) I missed out on this one the first time around, but since my collection is largely Original Trilogy-centric, I’d love to have an Imperial version of this classic tank.

Darth Vader transformation is another surprise to me. I didn’t think it would appear again outside of the Epiode III wave from back in 2005. Another $30 set, this would be a wonderfully cheap way to obtain an updated Darth Vader with his two -piece helmet, new cape, and updated leg and torso printing. Most likely it would also come with the Emperor and a gravely-injured Anakin Skywalker. The Emperor will probably not get an updated appearance in such a small set (looking at you, post-UCS Boba Fett sets) but it will be great to get the medical droids and the Frankenstein-esque lab table. First impressions of this set have been comparing it to the scale of the Carbon Freezing Chamber, and I’d say that’s a fair comparison to make. It’s nice to see Lego throwing some scenery into these kits for a change, too.

Last but not least, the advent calendar. We’ve seen exclusive holiday variations on Darth Maul, Yoda, Jango Fett, R2-D2 and C-3P0, Darth Vader, a clone trooper, and Chewbacca. (I went from memory there, let me know if I missed any) Who will be in the holiday special this year? We can count on the usual variation of troops that happen to feature snow gear, usually one Imperial snowtrooper and one rebel trooper, but I’m always more excited for the other oddballs that make it in, sometimes as exclusives from other sets or background characters with elaborate backstories. For the holiday figure, I would suspect Emperor Palpatine (because he’d go nicely with Vader), but it could be anything from Boba Fett to an Ewok to fat old Captain Rex in a Santa suit. Only time will tell, and as always, you have to pick these up in the summer when they come out to make sure you get yours. Is it just me, or do they always seem limited?

That’s it for my speculation on this list! All in all I think we have a lot to look forward to, judging by this and other leaks I’ve come across. On a side note, I will comply with Lego if they request this to be taken down. They’ve requested to have leaked info taken down before and they have every right to do that. I didn’t find this information myself so I’m just the messenger here.

That being said, I hope you enjoyed the article, and thank you for reading this far! If you liked the article, let me know in the comments, and join the speculation with me if you want!

It’s here! Watch it over and over again because it’s even better than the first trailer. Jyn’s dad gets dialog. Saw Guerarra gets new dialog. And the whole thing has a great atmosphere about it. Less than seventy or so days to go. I’m ready!

My favorite part of building as far as Lego Star Wars goes is building characters that Lego doesn’t officially make, but working within the limits of pieces Lego actually produces. It’s like a puzzle, finding the piece in the right color or printing, finding the right hair, helmet, or weapon to make the perfect vision of your favorite characters. Whether you call it kit-bashing, making a purist custom, or simply part of your MOC (Lego-speak for ‘my own creation’) I can’t leave a toy store without ideas for new characters. So it seemed fitting to make my first posts about custom Lego figures based on one of the first characters I wanted to build; Kyle Katarn from the Star Wars Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, and Jedi Academy video games.

Image credit: Lucasarts (found on Wookiepredia)

Kyl Katarn has worn many hats, so to speak. He defected from the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps (traitor!) and went solo, eventually becoming a mercenary and smuggler before eventually following the ways of the Jedi. I don’t want to spoil too many of his stories because there are so many and they’re all pretty good. I would highly recommend Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy. Not only are they two of the best, most fun Star Wars games I’ve ever played, they’re two of the best video games I’ve played overall. The lightsaber combat system has never been topped by another game, and until virtual reality tech is perfected, it probably won’t be bested for a while still.

So rather than ramble on about one of my favorite Star Wars characters, I took some pictures of little Kyle in action and tried to inject some humor into his story (not that he needs me to do that; Kyle has a very dry, sometimes cynical sense of humor)

Kyle and his good friend, fellow smuggler Jan Ors. Kyle has been an ongoing project, using the torso from an old Anakin Skywalker, brown pants and hands, and the head piece of a character from the Lake Town Chase set from The Hobbit. Here he is pictured with his blue lightsaber and faithful Bryar blaster pistol. I’m not 100% satisfied with how Jan turned out, but part of the fun is redoing these figures over time. Jan has Rey’s face, a Battlefront Rebel trooper body modified with white arms, and long black hair.He was known to get himself into situations where the odds were overwhelmingly against his favor. . .. . .but he was just as well-known for lugging around several blasters and other weapons at once. He’s armed and dangerous at all times, always trying to stay one step ahead of the Imperial Remnant (Post-Return of the Jedi in the Legends/Expanded Universe of Star Wars)Kyle was strong in the Force and skilled with a lightsaber. . .. . .and he battled his own dark side as often as he battled the dark side itself.Luke Skywalker, who might know a thing or two about the dark side, helped Kyle through his dark times and helped him become a great Jedi. Together, they trained new Jedi at Luke’s new academy.A survivor of trial after trial, Kyle Katarn was an influence on writers of new Star Wars canon material. Kanan Jarus in particular is similar, insomuch as having a troubled past and bouncing from place to place before returning to the Jedi ways. Both characters also have a tendency to block out important people in their lives at times, closing themselves off in attempts to stave new painful experiences. I would love to see Kyle become canon someday! It may not be likely, but with Thrawn becoming canon recently, you can’t rule out a character as well-known and loved as Kyle Katarn! (Note: I’m excited for Rogue One but I can’t help but be a little upset that it will be overwriting Kyle’s first story where he steals the Death Star plans)

Thank you for checking out my custom figures! Let me know if you like this format as I’d like to branch out into doing Lego Star Wars stories (almost like a webcomic) in the future. If you liked the post or have any ides you’d like to see in the future, leave me a comment or visit the contact page. I would love to hear your feedback!

The Force works in mysterious ways. It binds us, penetrates us, and makes us stress shop. During my technical difficulties yesterday, I stopped by Wal-Mart to see if anything was left in the Star Wars section after Rogue Friday. As luck would have it, I found two more Black Series figures from my wishlist! Check out this special addendum to my previous review with two more figures, Jango Fett and Kanan Jarrus.

Front, gear removed

Front, weapons hot

Back

Anyone who knows me knows I love Mandalorians almost as much as I love the Empire and finding the last toys on the pegs at the store. Both Jango and Kanan were the last figures I could find at the store, and I have a huge weakness for buying the last thing I can find of anything related to Star Wars. I know I’ll either never see it again (until the price is likely jacked up on Amazon) or I’ll see dozen of them in two months. But I never know which one it’ll be, so buying the last ones usually gets the best of me.

Jango Fett (Attack of the Clones) is a wonderful figure. He’s heavy with all of his well-detailed armor. The removable helmet isn’t flimsy. The jetpack has three placement pegs to keep the jetpack in place and level. The pistols are also more durable than I expected, which is something I appreciate because sometimes the weapons with these figures can be bent or just downright flimsy and fragile. There’s plenty of detail to take in; dirt and grime in the armor, tarnish marks, the knee-mounted dart launchers, and a nice dent from when he hits his head on Slave One’s loading ramp door in Episode 2. The head mold also looks pretty good. He’s missing the actor’s stubble, but maybe this is just Jango looking a little more cleaned up than normal. The figure looks and feels so right in every other regard that this one detail gets a pass for me, especially since I probably won’t remove the helmet terribly often.

Front

Back

Assemble

Onto Kanan from Star Wars: Rebels, this is another example of Hasbro stepping it up with the quality of these figures. Taking an animated character and making him look ‘real’ is no simple task, and it was pulled off very well with this figure. All the details are there, from his shoulder armor down to his lightsaber that actually dissasembles the way it does on the Rebels show. The blade is removable, and then the hilt of the lightsaber can be stashed away in two pieces on the frontand back of his belt. Kanan also includes his signature blaster pistol that fits into a hip holster. Out of the few heroes in my Black Series collection, this is definitely a new favorite!

All in all, I love these figures and love that I was able to find them even more! I’m old school when it comes to buying things. I like to hold it in my hands first before I take it to the register. That is especially true with these toys, as their can be flaws such as bad paint and flimsy or bent weapons to deal with. But the other reason I don’t buy many of these online is something I often compare to the philosophy of Batman. Batman never kills the Joker, even though it could save lives every time the Joker escapes imprisonment. He can’t kill the Joker because if he let’s that violent part of him see the light of day, he will never stop, and he would destroy every last one of his enemies and become just as bad as them. My fandom isn’t so dramatic, but it boils down to the fact that if I buy one thing on the internet, I will soon BUY ALL OF THE THINGS.

Go find your toys! Love and support the fandom!

-David

Thanks for reading this! If you enjoyed what you read (or even if you hated it, to each their own) let me know in the comments section! Leave a like if you are so inclined and subscribe to get notified every time I post something about my love for Star Wars. If you have an idea for something you’d like to see, let me know in the comments and I might make a post about it!

I was going to put this together sooner, but a pesky flu and some technical difficulties got in the way. But now the show goes on as I take a closer look at my newest Black Series figures. Lego will always be my first love when it comes to Star Wars toys, but the Black Series is a close second. Let’s start with the namesake of Rogue Friday, the day these figures were released, with a new character from Rogue One.

Jyn Erso

Back shot

Hood removed

I like Jyn Erso a lot so far, and that’s saying something considering we know next to nothing about her yet. The figure has a good sculpt and the normal posability for this type of figure. Something I noticed was that the little strap on her holster comes undone, making it easier to draw and stash away her blaster pistol. I thought this feature was new, but I went back and checked out my Han Solo figure and his holster does that too. You learn something every day! Jyn includes a blaster pistol, which is cool but doesn’t look quite as Star Wars-y to me compared to other weapons. She also has a removable head scarf. It’s easy to get her posed and keep that trademark spunky attitude when on display.

Front with hat

Side, jacket details

Front, alternate blaster and hat removed

Another frontal shot

Next is Cassian Andor, the Eadu variant. I didn’t know Target had a 3-pack exclusive of Cassian in another outfit plus Jyn and a Death Trooper variant (more on that later). I’ll have to keep an eye out for that and hopefully it is as plentiful as the last exclusive pack that included Poe Dameron (in the jacket he gives to Finn) plus stormtrooper FN-2199. I like the overall design of this figure with one exception – the face doesn’t quite look like the actor to me. Whether I should chalk this up to variation among figures or just a slightly off sculpt remains to be seen. I don’t hate it, and admittedly it does look a bit more like the real actor when the hat is removed (shame, because it’s a pretty nice hat) Regardless, the jacket is detailed very well with it’s padding and furry hood. The hat has a scarf coming down on one side, and Cassian includes a blaster pistol and blaster rifle.

Front

Back

Zenyatta

I bet K2SO steals every scene he’s in once the movie comes out. The figure is quite nice, with a sculpt resembling Imperial battle armor worn by General Veers and the like. The figure is the longest, lankiest droid I’ve ever seen, and he’s very posable. You can see in the third picture of him that he can channel Zenyatta from Overwatch and pose in a meditative state. K2 is nicely detailed and surprisingly can stand without a base, which I was surprised given how tall and awkward he is.

Front closeup

More front

Back

The squad

Next is the Death Trooper, part of the Imperial Security Bereau’s special forces under Director Krennic. This is one of two current variants. The other one, which in my opinion is more desirable, has different gear: same guns, but a shoulder pauldron and ARC Trooper style ammo pouches are added to the shoulder. As far as I can tell, that 3-pack comes later this month. Despite being slightly less interesting than that variant, there’s still plenty to like about this figure. He has Darth Vader’s belt buckle, a unique piece of knee armor, green eyepieces in the helmet, and unique weapons. This guy definitely captures the ‘don’t mess with me’ vibe of the Death Troopers. If you have the variant, they make a nice companion to Target’s two pack of shadow troopers. His height over everyone coupled with the black armor just makes him look mean. (Note: If you buy the 2-pack of shadow troopers, which I do recommend, that scout trooper doesn’t come with the sniper rifle; I had that lying around from another stroomtrooper variant and gave it to him)

Front

Back

Wrapping up Rogue One is probably my favorite figure of the Rogue One wave thus far, and that’s the Hovertank Trooper. Like the Death Trooper, he captures that meanness and intensity of the utilitarian armor scheme. The shoulders are a new rubbery material that flexes if you pose the arm too far up, bending it in instead of stressing or damaging the edge. Nice touch there, I like that a lot. The armor is a sort of mash up of stormtrooper gear and scout trooper gear, with stormtrooper-like boots and light torso armor, plus a unique helmet. Instead of full leg armor, the figure wears dark brown pants over the black bodysuit all stormtroopers wear underneath their armor. He also carries a blaster just in case he’d have to leave the armored safety of his hovertank. There’s a lot of nice detail, especially in the dirt and grime on his boots and armor. This figure is exclusive to Toys R Us.

Rey and BB-8

Kylo

Kylo goes for his weapon

“It belongs to me!”

Kylo, ignited saber

Lastly there’s the Force Awakens variants. A repackaged Rey now includes a lightsaber along with her signature staff and BB-8. Apart from minor differences, it is the same figure that has been available for a while now. I found her to be slightly difficult to pose when holding the lightsaber with both hands, but I noticed their may be a slight defect in the joints of my figure’s left arm. Could be damage, could be an error. I’m not exactly sure, but I like the figure and had been wanting one with a lightsaber. Kylo also appears to be an identical figure, but with changes to his accessories. This variant swaps his mask (the entire head) for the face underneath. I thought there would be an injured variant with the scar on his face, but I’m sure that will be coming for Episode 8. The other changes are regarding his lightsaber. He now includes two sabers, a new ingnited blade that is molded to the hilt (no weird three-pronged thing with the extra ‘energy’ going around it to hold it together) and an extra hilt with no blade, which can attach to a new notch in his belt. My only complaint, albeit a small one, is that like Cassian, his skin tone isn’t quite right. They both appear a little too pale to me. But skin tone is very difficult to transale into plastic, so I’m not holding that against anyone.

Overall, I enjoyed unboxing all these figures and adding them to my sizeable Black Series collection. My favorites are almost always new Imperial troopers, and this was the case yet again this time around. I was super happy to be able to purchase so many this time around as well. I went rather late in the day on Rogue Friday and was still finding good toys stocked on the shelves. This wasn’t the case for Force Friday, the previous event, where all the Force Awakens toys were revealed. So good on you, whoever makaes that sort of thing go more smoothly. Target had great promotions that rewarded you for going big on your purchases and I hope they do things similarly in the future for Episode 8’s theme day and the eventual other spinoff reveal days. It seemed much smoother this time, so let’s hope it gets even better when we do this all again next year!

-David

Thanks for reading! If you liked this rant and review, leave a like or let me know in the comments. Also, if there’s something you’d like to see, drop me a comment or an email and I might make a post about it!

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About the Blog

Well hello there! Welcome to the Empire's Elite, a blog for star wars collecting and creations. My name is David and I started this blog in 2016 to connect with other Star Wars fans and tell stories about hoard. . .erm collecting all things Star Wars - from books to toys and Lego, and everything else I can get my hands on. Seriously. I may or may not have a Boba Fett slap band still in the packaging, just in case. . .